Can we face the challenge: how to implement a theoretical concept of green infrastructure into planning practice? Warsaw case study

Abstract

While green infrastructure (GI) is now a widely referenced concept, in Poland it is still only discussed among academics and has yet to be implemented. In 2013, the EC recommended that Member States promote the implementation of GI approaches. In recent decades, ecological discourse has dominated Polish cities’ planning practice. In Warsaw, this discourse has evolved into the formation of the Warsaw Natural System (WNS) concept. This study examines means of transforming the WNS, which is strictly related to ecological discourse, into a Warsaw Green Infrastructure (WGI). In doing so, we utilise basic principles of GI, namely: integration, multifunctionality, connectivity, and multi-scale and multi-object approaches. The authors expose the main challenges associated with utilising the WNS concept as a point of departure for WGI implementation.

Keywords:

• Green space planning
• green infrastructure
• green infrastructure planning principles
• Warsaw, Poland